Why Xbox's 'Grounded' might be the best survival game in years (video)

Grounded is an upcoming survival sandbox game from Obsidian and Xbox, proving that big things can come in small packages.

What would happen if a game like Conan Exiles or ARK: Survival Evolved clashed with the world of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids? Grounded is your answer.

Grounded is an upcoming survival game from Obsidian, known for recent titles like The Outer Worlds and Pillars of Eternity. Microsoft picked up Obsidian to grow Xbox Game Studios a while ago, and despite Grounded's relatively smaller dev team, it's already showing some incredible promise.

Set in a back yard, you've been shrunk to the size of an ant, and must figure out what went wrong. Grounded has a story quest chain, but also a robust sandbox experience with crafting, settlement building, and armor and weapon tiers that must be researched and built, using parts from various creepy crawlies that inhabit the grounds. You and up to three additional friends will work your way up from aphid-munching scavenger to back yard overlord, clad in armor crafted from the spoils of vanquished wolf spiders and other predatory bugs.

See the video above for some of our early impressions on Grounded, and find out why we think this could be the best survival game in a long time. We'll also have a more detailed written preview up shortly, so stay tuned!

A microscopic struggle for survival

Grounded

See at Steam See at Microsoft

It's a big world out there

Grounded is Obsidian Entertainment's latest title, offering a unique survival experience where the player is the size of an ant, and everything in the backyard wants to make you its next meal.